A BRASS band struck up as he arrived and, afterwards, people lined the streets and applauded and waved as a popular parish priest celebrated a special Mass to mark the 50th anniversary of his ordination.
Fr Jim Kennelly, PP in Boherbue/Kiskeam, had a small congregation of family and close friends with him in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boherbue for the jubilee Mass this Sunday after which he was presented with a number of tokens, including a poem in his honour composed by bard and parishioner Frank O’Sullivan.
Fr Jim was on the teaching staff at St Brendan’s College in Killarney for 23 years and he said today that he has very happy memories of his time there.
“I loved every minute. I would have stayed teaching forever. The days were timetabled, the holidays were long and we had 200 boarders who kept us young. I just loved that life,” he said.
Fr Kennelly said, outside of family, he hardly did a christening, a wedding or a funeral during those 23 years.
A native of Millstreet, he served for a year as a curate in Kenmare and later spent another eight years in Ballydesmond before transferring to Boherbue and Kiskeam.
Speaking from the altar at the close of the Mass, Parish Council Chairman, Ned Vaughan, said he hopes that a more public gathering can be organised in the near future so that everybody that wishes to can have an opportunity to celebrate with Fr Jim.
Mr Vaughan thanked Fr Kennelly for his devoted service to the people of the parish and to all the places he has served.
“We thank you for your compassion in difficult times, your humour in better times and your friendship at all times,” Mr Vaughan told the hugely popular priest.
Fr Jim thanked all those that influenced and supported him during his life and his 50 years in the priesthood and he made special mention of his parents, Tadhg and Mai, to whom he dedicated his golden jubilee Mass.
He said following his ordination in St Mary’s Cathedral in 1971, Bishop Eamonn Casey told him that he was sending him to the parish of Kenmare where he would be with the nicest priest in the diocese, Fr Sayers.
Also in Kenmare to greet him was a housekeeper named Peggy who looked after him like a mother and made the house a home.
Peggy was in Boherbue this morning as a special guest at his jubilee Mass and Fr Jim had a special welcome for her.
Also in attendance was his former housekeeper in Ballydesmond, Noreen, and Sheila who is his housekeeper in Ballydesmond.
Looking back on 50 years in the priesthood, Fr Jim said times have certainly changed.
“In 1971 we had too many priests. Each parish had at least one priest but most had two or three,” he said, adding that Tralee and Killarney could have any number of priests.
“I remember a curate in Killarney telling me once that he was only saying Mass a couple of times a year because there were too many priests around and he was rarely saying Mass on a Sunday.
“The world has changed and I think through those years more than anything else the child abuse scandals and cover-ups did the clergy untold harm. Suddenly, a priest and the priesthood became terms of suspicion and mistrust,” he said.
Fr Kennelly said that may have been unfair but a Church with claims to have been founded by Jesus Christ and all that he stands for should never have allowed itself to become so arrogant that it thought itself above the law.
“Hopefully, we will emerge from this with a more humble and contrite Church, more in keeping with what Jesus stood for, a Church of service, humility, welcoming and forgiveness.
“Most priests and religious are good people but it has been a tough time,” he added.
Fr Kennelly noted that he was one of 52 priests ordained in Ireland 50 years ago and, since then, 14 of them have died and 21 from his original class have passed away.
